fighting a possession through dream? terrifying!!!

[silversnake]

First of all, hello to all (as this is my first post after some lurking these past few weeks )

Anyways, this isn't a recurring dream, although I've experienced similar things maybe once or twice before that have felt awfully real. What I remember is: I feel something horribly, HORRIBLY dark and powerful (and extremely heavy) pushing my mind down/inside my body. My first reaction is to stumble to my bathroom where I'll see myself in the mirror with a dark shadow halfway inside me, pushing down. It feels like my mind is being forcibly shoved down "inside" my body and I'm losing my ability to control my actions (hence the stumbling, grasping for anything solid, etc). As my mind tries to push this being out my body, I manage to flick the light switch on, and the shadow is immediately lifted out my body and disappears.
Then I wake up with such a horrid feeling: half relieved, half terrified because I feel like if I hadn't managed to turn the light on or woken up in time, I'd have lost my body and consciousness....

Any insight? Anyone else had a similar experience?? Anything's appreciated, thanks!

[Peregrine]

There is a recurring theme running in one side of my family of seeing the proverbial "demon" in the bathroom mirror during dreamtime. My turn came up back in early 2006 along with another very out-of-the-ordinary dream (unusual for me, at least). Yes, I freaked out and wondered if I had a curse or possession going on. Luckily for me, I suppose, I have grown to develop a different set of spiritual ideas from my family so I have been able to deal with it a lot more from enlightenment rather than fear.

Only within the past month did I come across the concept of "the shadow self." This could be one possibility for you, that your shadow self is making its presence known. It brings me comfort because it is not perceived as a curse, but rather an awareness of my darker side. From what I have learned, it is about becoming aware of the things inside yourself that you have not liked and how to own it and to master it, because it is your creation. That is not intended as condemnation, because they hold secrets about you that are helpful.

I recall years ago, as a fan of "Jekyll and Hyde," making a comment that perhaps Jekyll's mistake is in trying to rid himself of Hyde, because Hyde might hold secrets to a survival that have been buried and forgotten. They actually put this into one of the movies, "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Glad I kept my words soft and sweet as I ate them this summer.

There are many books and even helpful internet articles on the shadow self.

Just my hypothesis based on your description.

[Traumwandlerin]

I'm with Peregrine on that,

because you saw it even in the mirror which represents youself. You've seen two sides of you, struggling for dominance. Don't be afraid, take your time in meditation and talk to the Shadow. You both should try not to fight against each other but rather grow strong together to fight everything else.

[silversnake]

thanks to you both for the replies. I was still unsure as to how a shadow self could manifest itself in such a way (after all, the being in the dream felt very foreign, like an exterior force)...Then again, this was a time where every night I'd have zombie dreams...
It would make sense.
Thank you again! Any other replies welcome ofc

[Traumwandlerin]

Feeling foreign would fit very well, since you didn't want to know your shadow so far.